Hardy Official For UFC On ESPN 3

The Greg Hardy experiment in the UFC will continue for the UFC’s return to ESPN on April 27th.

In a press release sent out on Thursday, the UFC announced that Yoel Romero and Jacare Souza will headline the ESPN card from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in what can be considered an eliminator at middleweight, but also referenced Hardy’s return to action after his controversial disqualification loss in January at UFC on ESPN+ 1 from Barclays Center.

Hardy would be DQ’ed for illegally kneeing a downed Allen Crowder at 2:28 of the second round, giving the ex-NFL all pro his first loss as a mixed martial artist.

The ex Cowboy and Panther is considered a controversial signing by the UFC, due to Hardy’s well-publicized issues with drugs and a domestic violence conviction, which was overturned when the witness refused to testify.

Hardy will face off against Dmitrii Smoliakov from the BB&T Center in Ft. Lauderdale. It has not announced if Hardy will be on the main card or the prelim fights.